Please Moms, No Jumpers

Everywhere I go, I am starting to see these huge jumpers – indoor playgrounds, occasional neighborhood birthday parties…I am starting to suspect that all this bouncy activity will, in the future, have severe consequences to the bodies of young children. How do I know? I have been seeing children now with problems of gait and pain on walking. Some will have “excessive pronation” or ‘flat feet.’ Most of the time, it only affects one foot. Sometimes if both ankles roll in, one foot is usually worse than the other. The most important question to ask is, “Why the asymmetry? Why should one be worse than the other?” Read my prior post on Arches because what affeccts adults I also see exactly the same thing in children. In children, as in adults the traumatized sacrum will alter the body’s ability to bear weight equally across the legs. The most important point I want to make is this…I arrived at this conclusion after having successfully treated children before I was informed about the activity in the jumpers. This my consistent feeling about activities of this nature – doorway bouncers for infants, bouncing children on the knee…No…don’t do it…all…bad. Why?

Let’s talk about our Most Natural State. In the wild, cubs have ‘play.’ This ‘play’ helps them develop their instinctual skills to hunt, kill, feed and ultimately to survive. What skill does bouncing on ones buttocks help children develop? It will only lead to near term leg pains and ultimately… long term disability…yes…it is that severe and dangerous.